I'll Be Your Saviour
by x-MJ-x
Summary: She trudges along in the snow, sad and alone. It doesn't take long for the stress of it all to get to her and suddenly she needs, something, needs him. What she really needs is a saviour and maybe she'll be one right back. Set after 'Demonology'.


**Hey, **

**I love Criminal Minds and have only just thought of coming onto the section of the site dedicated to it even though I've been on this site for months – how ridiculous is that? Anyway, I've been reading lots of the stories already posted here and I must say they are fantastic. I've decided in response to the brilliance I've been reading the past two days to post my own story. It picks up from the end of the episode entitled '**_**Demonology' **_**so beware of spoilers if you haven't seen it although the spoilers will only be from possibly the last two minutes of actual screen time and brief mentions of the characters featured in it. I'm not going to go into the plot in any detail but as you can see it's a Prentiss / Hotch story... **

**My author's note is the same as ever – I DO NOT own Criminal Minds or any of the characters featured on it they belong to the production company and very talented writers responsible for them. All recognisable plots and dialogues will be clearly marked in italics. **

**I hope you enjoy this and will let me know what you think of it – reviews always make me smile, so feel free to message me. **

* * *

_Emily Prentiss turned away from her colleagues. She knew it probably wasn't a good idea to be alone right now, but she craved the solicitude of her own company. The last few days had been tough on her, she felt emotionally drained and although she knew her friends were only concerned for her right now but she just needed to walk, she just needed to get a handle on this situation. _

_This was an example of work getting too personal and she knew that Hotch would probably reprimand her in the morning for crossing that line for pushing the team too far, for using resources selfishly. Sure they had gotten another scumbag killer off the streets and had therefore preserved public safety for yet another day but he wouldn't see it that way – he would see that she had been insubordinate, that she was challenging the boundary of her professional position, but frankly Hotch could go screw himself right now because she was grieving and she didn't care what the consequences of that were. _

_She made her way along the pavement, carefully avoiding areas of built up snow – she was wearing rather impractical footwear and the last thing she needed was to slip in the snow because she wasn't sure she would be able to get back up again. She walked aimlessly in what appeared to be a straight line until something made her stop – she turned to face the somewhat imposing building and was more than a little alarmed to find that she was standing opposite a church, suddenly her thoughts were filled with memories of her time in Rome and she felt the spurn of her threatened excommunication all over again. Then she could feel Matthew's hand in hers and it didn't feel so bad. She just wished that she'd been able to save both of her friends. She wished she could pay Matthew back for his support. She wished there was more she could have done. She just felt that she could never measure up. She could never be as perfect as she had hoped she would be. It was the harshest reminder that in the end they should be thankful that their job allowed them to save at least some of the people who needed their help. Nevertheless, it was a reminder that it didn't matter how much you tried, you couldn't save everybody. They weren't superheroes after all. At that thought, Emily felt a warm thick trickle running down in the space between her nose and her top lip. She touched her fingers to her skin and as she drew it away she saw the red stain of blood on her pale skin. _

_A nosebleed. She hadn't had one of those in years, but she knew what it meant. _

_A high stress situation. 'Come on, get a handle on it Prentiss.' She berated herself. She was FBI for Christ's Sake, she had seen worse, she had prevented worse and yet somehow this seemed more horrific. She knew of course that it was because she was personally involved but still she should be able to be professional about this and she couldn't..._

* * *

The snow continued to fall and despite mopping at the blood constantly she couldn't seem to stem the flow of the bleeding. What was it they said about nosebleeds? How long should she wait before beginning to panic? She couldn't remember – all her basic first aid knowledge seemed to be deserting her and that in itself was panicking her. What should she do? She didn't know. She couldn't go home it would be too quiet and she would think too much. She would start reliving the past; she would give too much thought to that baby, the baby she had aborted, the baby she had killed...

She was suddenly overtaken by the urge to visit Matthew's parents again – to explain that he had never done anything wrong, that they shouldn't think badly of him – that he had been the only person to help her and most importantly that he was not the father of her baby because that's what they thought. They thought she was hussy who had turned their good catholic son's head. She felt awful about herself and she hated that her colleagues - Rossi in particular knew all her little secrets. In a way she knew it made her more accessible, maybe they wouldn't see her as so isolated anymore and maybe she would seem more relatable now. But she still hated that her greatest secret had become common knowledge because of this case. Maybe Hotch was right to warn her against pushing it too far – to be guarded about making the connection between the exorcisms and the deaths, maybe she should have just left things well enough alone...

'_Come on Prentiss pull yourself together.' She thought to herself again._

She continued on trudging through the snow until by some miraculous occurrence she found herself outside of Matthew's parent's house. She approached the door and peered in through the window. What she saw stopped her from following through and knocking at the door. Matthew's mother was sitting on the floor of the living room, spread around her were photos of Matthew as a young boy. Emily knew that she shouldn't be watching but she couldn't help it. Every time the other woman came to photograph which seemed to include another person she drew it into the light and took a pair of scissors to it. As half of the latest photograph floated to the floor Emily saw that the other person Matthew's mother was trying to eradicate was her. She could see the image of her young self as it landed on the carpet and she gasped as she watched his mother throw it on the fire. Ok, so maybe knocking and explaining wasn't a good idea...

* * *

So where now? She couldn't go home – they weren't due to fly back until the morning and she didn't feel like spending the night in an unfamiliar hotel room thinking about everything that had passed here. Maybe she could go into the office? It wasn't officially BAU property but no one could hold it against her if she decided to start on the paperwork here could they?

With this thought in mind she hailed a cab, noticing for the first time that the sky had turned from a foreboding grey to an inky black. It must be late and yet she hadn't even noticed. It was highly likely that there would be no one there, but frankly that suited her just fine – she could go to pieces in her own company and the rest of the team would be none the wiser.

The cab pulled up and Prentiss paid the fare, mumbling to herself at the ridiculously over pitched rate. She made her way through the P.D and passed a cleaner on the third floor, the woman made to I.D her and a quick flash of her FBI credentials put a relaxed smile back on her face. Emily was about to warn her not to be so complacent – didn't she realise how many serial killers and crazy psychopaths carried FBI and police credentials? – But she was too self absorbed and quite frankly she couldn't be bothered – not after the day she had had.

She walked with a certain sense of urgency though she was not due at a meeting and was not expected to present, she just knew that she would feel better once at a desk and with the case file in front of her. At least here she could do some good; at least here she could write the report which would make damned sure that the bastard who had done this, the priest whose diplomatic immunity could no longer protect him was put away for a very long time. At least in that small way she could help Matthew.

* * *

She noted with an ironic if not sarcastic smile that the office here was not dissimilar to the one in Quantico. There was the same cluster of desks for officers and a separated office for the commanding officer. Couldn't people be original? Or didn't they realise that most psychopaths wouldn't even need a floor plan to navigate pretty much any P.D or FBI division office in America? Apparently not. But still the truth remained – '_seen one, seen them all.' _

Oh - thinking like a serial killer – she was in a really good mood tonight. She was on top of her game. _'If only Hotch could see me now' _she thought drily.

She chose one of the desks, determined not to take the one which mirrored her own back in Quantico and pulled her over sized leather work bag onto her lap. She rifled through it until her hand closed around her notebook, full of all her notes and general thoughts on the case. Now to writing the formal report.

She opened the drawer in the desk and fumbled around thanking whichever officer had thought to leave a new, blank case file ready for her report. She liked to write everything up by hand – it just felt more personal ..._Emily Prentiss is officially writing this report and has done more than just sign it. _ Hotch hated it, he preferred everything to be typed and input directly into the system... Yada... yada...

Screw him. Screw rules and regulations...

Well actually Emily was a rules and regulations kind of a girl - just not tonight... Besides there was always Garcia, she would bust her out of this jam, of course she would.

Emily pulled out her cell phone and hit Penelope's speed dial combination. Despite the late hour, Garcia picked up after only two rings.

* * *

"_Hello my sugar plum what can I do for you at this twilight hour?" Penelope's playful voice asked. _

"_Hey Pen, I've got a favour to ask you..." Emily trailed off a moment. _

"_Of course ask away beautiful lady." Penelope flirted a little, she always did – Emily was not concerned by it, she found it strangely endearing. _

"_It's about my report... I'm kinda writing it by hand as usual and you know Hotch will beat up on my ass again... can you help me out?" Emily asked with overt sweetness._

"_Sure you know I got your back honey. How about you pass me the report when you land and I'll have it back to you in a jiff – I'll even use your personalised font – just to make it authentic." Emily could hear Garcia's smile. _

"_Thanks Penelope, I owe you one." Emily sighed out her relief. _

"_I'll hold you to a night of cosmo's when you get back then." Garcia told her. _

"_You got it. Cosmo's I can do. Thanks again." Emily laughed. _

"_Hey Em... Are you alright?" Penelope asked tentatively, she knew Emily could be guarded about anything personal but she was BAU family and mama had to make sure her chickens were Ok. _

"_Yeah sure I am, I just want to get this report done and then I can move on, y'know..." Emily replied evasively. _

"_Em where are you?" Garcia asked her gently. _

"_Um at the office, I kinda didn't want to be alone in my hotel room tonight; it seemed like a good plan at the time but y'know I'm feeling even worse now and..." Emily trailed off._

"_I'm gonna call Derek and J.J... I'll even call Hotch – you shouldn't be alone, why did they leave toy alone pretty lady?" Garcia asked. _

"_No! Don't call them, please – I asked them to leave me alone, you know me Penelope I'll be Ok... Please..." Emily begged._

"_Ok, alright chill out honey bear, I won't call them, just promise me you'll get out of that office and try to catch a few hours shut eye?" Garcia told her, but Emily knew that she was setting her conditions. _

"_Sure... Thanks Pen. See you tomorrow?" Emily asked knowing that she would. _

"_Of course Em, sweet dreams and big hugs coming your way." Garcia told her. _

"_Night Pen." Emily smiled before clicking off._

* * *

So that was one less thing she had to worry about, Garcia had her back as always. Now to writing the report... wait hadn't she thought that already?

She switched on the desk lamp and turned her eyes to the blank case file and picked up her pen. Where to start? Where to start?

'_At the beginning Prentiss... Come on pull yourself together woman'. _She told herself silently.

Somehow she found herself ignoring the scribbles in her notebook and writing Matthew's name over and over again in her neat rolling script.

_Matthew. _

_Matthew. _

_Matthew. _

_Matthew._

_Matthew._

Her mind was filled with thoughts of him and suddenly she felt that familiar warm stickiness begin to trickle from her nose.

Oh great... This was too much stress, she couldn't do this anymore.

She mopped at her nose and found that she was unable to stem the flow of the second bleed. Oh Jesus. This wasn't good, bleeding like this wasn't good...

She began to cry and then she began to cry some more because she was crying. Pathetic...

Her crying turned to sobbing and suddenly she was a sobbing, bleeding mess. Her hair was sticking to her head and the blood was running over her lips. She felt weak and she was afraid of losing consciousness even though there was not a lot of blood. She was afraid and alone and she really wished she hadn't hung up on Garcia. She was scared, she wasn't afraid to admit it and...

A hand closed around her shoulder...

She was alone and afraid and she was going to die...

* * *

"Prentiss?" A familiar voice spoke her name as a question.

She was going to kill Garcia, she had made a promise. Oh that girl's cosmo's were off.

"Hotch what are you doing here?" Emily asked more harshly than she intended to.

"Did Garcia call you?" She snapped before he had the chance to answer.

"What? No. Prentiss, I stopped by your room at the hotel – Morgan said you didn't come back with him – I wanted to check that you were alright but you weren't there, so I did my job – I thought like you for a moment and look where it got me."Hotch mused noting her defensive tone.

"Right well... I should probably take back that venom against Garcia then." Emily laughed a little.

"Yeah you probably should, she may stop considering you as one of her _"furry friends_" and then where would you be?" Hotch joked, though he heard her draw in a pained breath.

"Friendless and alone..." She stifled a sob.

"Prentiss are you alright?"Hotch asked in his concerned tone.

"Yes sir." She answered by rote.

"Prentiss... Look at me." Hotch told her with the air of an order.

"No sir, I can't do that sir." Emily replied stoically.

"Prentiss it's not a choice look at me..." He ordered her.

"Sir please..." Emily was beginning to admit defeat.

"Prentiss I won't ask you again." Hotch told her.

Emily sighed heavily and reluctantly turned her head towards him. It took him a beat but there it was - the shocked expression.

"Um. Yeah. I'm a wreck right, I know." She tried to giggle but ended up sobbing.

"Prentiss you're bleeding." Hotch said for lack of anything even remotely intelligent or comforting to say. He had never been good at watching a woman cry.

"No kidding, but I can see why they pay you the big bucks." She tried to laugh but it sounded strangled through her sobs.

"How long have you been bleeding like that? Did someone attack you?" Hotch sounded worried, she could hear the clear rise in notation in his voice.

"No I wasn't attacked, it's called a nose bleed – apparently this case has acted as my stressor, I think it's my second one tonight, but it'll stop in a minute." Emily didn't sound confident.

"Your stressor? I hope that doesn't mean I'm going to find a body out there with one of your bullets wedged in its frontal lobe." Hotch joked.

"Don't worry sir; I'm not quite serial killer material... yet." She mused and they both laughed – some of the tension in the room dissipated.

"You know Prentiss, I'm going to take you to the ER, you need to get that checked out – from where I'm standing, that bleed is showing no sign of stopping." Hotch told her, his tone instructional.

"No! I'm not going to the ER for a nose bleed what do you think I am – five or something? I don't need a fuss." She snapped although her eyes were losing focus and her head as beginning to swoon.

"Prentiss, you're posing a risk to your own health and as your superior I..."

"Have no authority over me in a personal capacity." Emily replied bluntly, sweeping the sleeve of her blazer over her nose in an attempt to clean herself up and hating the stickiness she could feel on her most expensive work jacket.

"There see – it's stopped." She told him smugly, but she fell silent as she felt a fresh trickle run from her nose.

"Alright Prentiss, that's it I'm taking you to the ER." Hotch told her, grabbing hold of her elbow in a purposeful way.

"Hotch! I said no! I'm fine, you've checked in on me now so you can go – I'll see you at the airport in the morning." Emily pulled her arm out of his grip with some force and ended up hitting the back of the chair hard.

"Prentiss this is ridiculous – you're not well anyone can see that – at least let me take a look, see if I can't stop that bleeding." Hotch spoke more softly now, more personally and suddenly she saw him transform he was no longer Agent Hotchner, he was just Aaron.

"I... I have the report to write up that's what I was doing before you interrupted..." Emily protested and Hotch stepped around the chair she was sitting in and pulled the case file towards him. The page was covered in sticky blood and the name Matthew – over and over. Oh yeah Prentiss was on top of her game tonight.

"Look just leave it tonight, we can do it when we get back to Quantico – it doesn't save him if you do it tonight, he's already gone Prentiss." Hotch tried to soothe her, but he knew she'd think that he was pushing it too much.

"That's what you think this is about? I know he's dead I'm not delusional – I just... this is the last thing I can do for him and..." She began to cry again. '_Oh perfect timing Prentiss' _She thought to herself sarcastically.

"Look Prentiss, I didn't mean anything by it... I'm just concerned, I don't want to see you get consumed by this case – you're an excellent profiler and I don't want you thinking that this is your fault." Hotch told her as warmly as he could.

"Don't you see? This _is _my fault, if I hadn't... if I hadn't aborted that baby then Matthew never would have had to stand up to that priest, he never would have gone into rebellion, he never would have taken those drugs..." Emily told him, her breathing heavy and her nose beginning to bleed again.

Without warning, Hotch was crouched on his haunches in front of her. His wide hand was brushing her hair from her face – he smiled as he noticed the light covering of melting snow on her dark mane and suddenly he was holding a white piece of fabric up to her nose. It took her a moment to register what had happened before she noticed that he was trying to stem the flow of the bleeding with a handkerchief.

"A handkerchief? Really?" Emily asked nasally.

"What's wrong with a handkerchief?" Hotch asked clearly confused by her tone.

"Nothing's _wrong_ with it, it's just that most people don't carry them anymore, you know there is such an invention as a travel pack of tissues these days." Emily laughed.

"Well I guess I'm not most people." Hotch replied suddenly pinching the bridge of her nose and applying sustained pressure. Why hadn't she thought to do that? It was so basic...

He held onto the handkerchief and continued to apply pressure for a few minutes more and her nose really was feeling rather sore.

"Ow." She moaned feebly as he seemed to increase his grip.

"Oh come on Prentiss – really?" He joked mimicking her earlier tone.

"You try having a man squeezing your nose – then we'll see how you feel." Emily replied irritably.

"Hey it might be uncomfortable, but it seems to be working the bleeding's slowing down." Hotch told her, his dark eyes flashing to hers and then looking away.

Wait... What was it she had just seen in his eyes? She wasn't sure- he had looked her too fleetingly but there had been _something_ there...

Several more tense seconds passed and then, he drew the blood soaked handkerchief away from her face.

"There, the bleeding's stopped." He smiled standing back up and looking down at her with that same look as before – what was it?

"Oh God, I'm sorry - I ruined your handkerchief." Emily giggled slightly as she saw him ball the wad of bloody fabric up and throw it in the trash.

"It's fine." Hotch replied blankly, clearing he had noticed the change in their tone also and was trying to diffuse it.

"Hey... Um... Thanks." Emily told him sheepishly a moment later.

"No problem, just doing my job." He replied rather coldly.

"Hotch?" She trailed off unsure what her question actually was.

"Prentiss?" He replied in the same tone she had used.

"You've had all your shots right?" Emily asked her tone deliberately worried.

"Of course why?" Hotch asked confused by her enquiry.

"Well you're covered in my blood..." Emily trailed off and he looked down at his hands – it was true he was covered in her blood. He quickly wiped his hands on his pants, wincing at the thought of ruining a good suit.

"God now we're both a mess." Emily mused.

"I guess you're right, hey what do you say I drive you back to the hotel? We can both get cleaned up and then maybe we could head to the bar for a drink – you look like you could use one." Hotch asked her the question as if she had a choice but she knew he was thinking that he was drag her to the Yukon if he had to.

"Sure, Ok sounds good. But Hotch, what about the report?"She asked.

"Prentiss, I already told you – we'll do it in the morning, besides you shouldn't do it – you know the policy on personal involvement – you're lucky Strauss hasn't busted us before now." Hotch told her ever the professional.

"You said 'us' – surely you mean me?" Emily asked.

"No Prentiss, I mean 'us' – we're a team – we stick together, we make decisions together and I gave you clearance for this case so it's us." Hotch told her as he grabbed her handbag from the desk and handed it to her.

"Right... well thanks." Emily mumbled as she took it and headed for the door.

As Hotch exited behind her he slipped the bloody case file into the bin. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. He was just grateful that he had ensured that the report had already been processed and input into the system – it was one less thing for her to worry about...

* * *

Emily unzipped her 'go- bag' and pulled out a clean, crisp white blouse. Sure it was an exact replica of the one she was currently wearing – minus the blood of course. She walked across the room into the en-suite switching on the shower. She swept her hair back into a knot and stripped out of her clothes.

As she stood under the heavy beat of the water, she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the thought of what the look in Hotch's eyes had meant and suddenly she felt incredibly self conscious. She turned off the shower, dried and dressed quickly – Hotch was probably waiting in the bar and the temptation of an alcohol drink was pulling at her with some familiar insistency.

* * *

Hotch was waiting at the bar – she had known he would be and he hadn't let her down. He was wearing a pristine white cut off shirt and his slate grey dress pants, she noticed with a small smile that he had negated to put his tie back on. He hadn't seen her yet, she approached him from behind and she couldn't help but get a flash of the movie _Pretty Woman_ – only the roles were reversed. He was Vivian and she was Edward – something like that. Wait had she likened her boss to a prostitute? She came around the side of him and saw him take a sip from a wine glass. She had never really seen him drink wine – when he joined them for drinks after work he always drank beer like Morgan and Rossi whilst the girls and Reid mixed their wines and spirits like there was no tomorrow. She smiled as she saw the full glass sitting beside his waiting for her.

She slipped her hand around the base of the glass and drew it to her lips.

"Hmm, a good vintage, I can tell." She spoke softly, although she had clearly taken him by surprise if the stunned look on his face was anything to go by – that and the fact that he nearly spat his wine all over his white shirt.

"I didn't mean to scare you Hotch." She giggled somewhat sexily.

"You didn't – I just wasn't expecting you, I didn't hear you coming." He told her defensively.

"Oh Ok well from where I was standing it looked like you jumped." She mocked.

"Yes alright Prentiss, you've had your joke." He brushed her off lightly.

"Thanks for this." She raised her glass as if to signal what she meant.

"Of course, feeling better?" He asked awkwardly.

"Yeah I thought I just needed to walk it off but it wasn't that simple, thanks for checking up on me Hotch and thanks for stopping the bleeding..." She rambled on and on until she was almost out of breath.

"Prentiss will you stop saying thank you – you're my... friend and I would like to think that you'd do the same for me if I needed you to. I understand you know, I'm not totally inhuman." Hotch replied.

"I'm sorry for the way I've behaved these past few days, I just wanted to help, I just... I had to _know_." Emily told him knowing she was lucky to still be on the team at all.

"Look we all understand – I know how it is, there are days when we forget, just for a minute that we're not able to help everybody who needs us and sometimes those people we can't help, they're also the people we love the most." Hotch told her stoically and she knew that he spoke from experience.

"It's just that Matthew was so good to me, I guess I owed it to him to put that bastard away..." Emily trailed off knowing that she was speaking in riddles.

"Was he...?" Hotch trailed off berating himself for betraying the confidence Rossi had bestowed upon him.

"The father of my aborted baby?" Emily asked drily, flashing him a small forgiving smile. Hotch wondered briefly if she would be so forgiving with Rossi.

"Mm hmm, I... you don't have to..." It was Hotch's turn to be evasive.

"No." She replied simply.

"No?" Hotch asked in confusion, unclear as to whether she meant no the subject was not up for discussion or no Matthew was not the father of her baby.

"No Hotch, Matthew wasn't the father – we never... y'know." Emily looked away in embarrassment.

"He was just a really great friend, the kind that are a diamond dozen and now he's gone..." Emily continued.

"Prentiss if this is too difficult we don't have to talk about it." Hotch told her.

"It was John. That's what you want to know right? But it's not what you think, we were kids – silly ignorant kids and we hated our strict upbringing. That was about the time that we realised that he was a boy and I was a girl and well y'know the rest is pretty self explanatory and well Matthew came to my rescue when John couldn't deal with it and he's the one that died..." She turned away from him as she realised she was crying.

"Oh this is a great night for being in my company, I'll bet you're thanking your lucky stars you were the sucker who got to go on 'Prentiss duty' tonight right?" Emily joked, sniffing back her tears.

"Prentiss duty?" Hotch laughed a little.

"Oh come on Hotch everyone knows I'm the loose cannon in this team, I know you've always got your eye on me even when I start to think that maybe I'm BAU for real. You don't trust me do you?" She shot the words at him and waited for his pathetic excuses.

"What Prentiss? Where is all this coming from?" Hotch asked, the hurt genuine in his voice.

"Come on Hotch don't tell me you wouldn't prefer me to be more like Rossi or Morgan – shut up and do my job – don't tell me that." Emily told him despite his protestations.

She drained the last of her wine and headed for the elevator without waiting for another feeble reply. This had gone so wrong and it was going to be so awkward in the morning...

* * *

She punched the button for the third floor corridor and fell against the cool metal of the box as the doors slid shut. The last thing she saw before the completely sealed was of Hotch trying in vain to stop those doors closing...

She made her way along the corridor quickly stopping as she reaching room 302, J.J's room. She tapped lightly on the door and waited for a response – nothing. She tried again and still her friend didn't answer – she called softly to her several times but she didn't respond. Emily looked down at her watch in the half light and noted the time it was a little after eleven and she knew that J.J took advantage of every hour of precious sleep. In fact she should probably do the same. She was pretty beat after today and now she had to worry about being fired by Hotch... Oh God why couldn't she just learn to keep her mouth shut. She continued until she got to hers, room 303, two doors away from Hotch. Oh God this was bad...

* * *

She took out her key card and slipped it into the machine and waited for the light to change from red to green. It didn't. It refused- the computer apparently said no. Great, wonderful, perfect – right when she needed to escape from Hotch. She tried it again and again and then she kicked the door- hard with the toe of her boot, then she cursed as a searing pain coursed through her foot.

She could hear footfalls coming up behind her and she knew who they belonged to, it was the unmistakable careful pattern of her boss's footsteps. That was almost the first thing they taught you when you arrived at 'how to be a real FBI agent school' – recognition of fellow agents' footfalls – Emily had excelled at this particular skill – Oh yeah, it was Hotch alright.

"Prentiss." He called her name in barely a whisper but she knew he was serious about talking to her. Still she didn't turn around, she continued to try the door – to no avail.

"Prentiss." He hissed again.

He approached her and he reached out a hand closing it around her shoulder.

"Prentiss look at me." He whispered.

She sighed heavily and beat her fist against the unmovable door.

He spun her towards him and although she put up some resistance he easily outmanoeuvred her and she had no choice but to face him.

"Hotch I'm sorry I ..." Emily started knowing that admitting defeat was far more favourable than going up against him for round two of an argument in the middle of a hotel corridor but he cut across.

"Shut up and listen to me for a second Prentiss." He almost growled and she was taken aback by the undertones of his voice.

She moved her lips as if to speak but found that the look in eyes caused her words to die before they could be voiced.

"Right, thank you – now that I have the floor so to speak perhaps I can do something about that misconception you seem to have." Hotch told her.

Emily fought internally to stop herself from snapping back at him that it most definitely was a fact that could be proven but she bit her tongue.

"You can't think that I don't appreciate you on the team because that most definitely is not true. You're an asset to this team and I think anyone with half a brain can see that you are officially part of Penelope's 'BAU family' so really nobody can argue." He told her.

"I didn't ask for Penelope's opinion Hotch, I asked for yours." She sighed knowing that she probably wouldn't get a straight answer out of him anyway.

"Prentiss I just told you, you're on my team because you deserve to be. You're a brilliant profiler and you work damned hard so don't think that you're a 'loose cannon' not by any definition of the term. I also think you should know that you're never alone, there are always people here for you." He smiled weakly and she softened her own features. It was good to see the real Hotch.

"Um Hotch, can I ask you a favour?" She asked timidly.

"Sure." He replied simply.

"Can you see if you can open my door? I can't seem to budge it , It worked earlier but I don't know it doesn't want to move now– I wish we could just go back to manual keys..." She giggled lightly – she had never been very technologically advanced.

"Sure – hey I think there's a knack with these doors you kind of have to push the card down and backwards at the same time, here let me show you." He replied and before Emily had the chance to move she found herself pressed between the door to her room and Agent Hotchner and it was... incredibly sexy.

He kept his eyes on hers as he took the key card between his fingers and pushed it into the slot. She heard its downward, backward movement and a second later, the beep which told her he had been successful.

She watched Hotch's eyes as they flicked between the little card reader and back to her face. Ok, so things were getting a little bit hot right now.

"I guess the light's green huh?" She said her throat constricting slightly and causing her voice to become suddenly very sensual.

He looked at her with those same dark eyes and for the first time she made the connection between _that_ look and lust. Oh God – and she had just mentioned the 'green light' – '_Way to go Prentiss'. _She thought to herself.

"I guess so." His words came out on a single breath and Emily knew that she was done for. She hadn't been with a man for months – Hello, FBI – hello, BAU with its tendency to whisk you from home at a moment's notice and she was struggling under the weight of her boss's stare.

"Great. Well thanks Hotch y'know for everything. I'll see you in the morning right? Night." She smiled before turning away from him and pushing the door open a little.

Even though she had clearly gone through the motions to end whatever they had mutually started, even though she had bid him goodnight, it seemed like he wasn't in a hurry to move away. She wondered what his face looked like right now but she was determined not to turn back around, she couldn't trust herself if she did.

She was halfway inside her room when she felt his arm close around her wrist. She was shocked for a moment but she didn't say anything, she just waited.

"Emily..." He spoke her name in such a way as she had never heard it before. In fact she so rarely heard him address her by her first name that she almost didn't register that he was talking to her.

"Yes?" She breathed out the single word as a question but she had to question what that word actually meant. Did it just mean yes? Or was it yes – a signal for him to do whatever he planned to do next? She just couldn't decide and as she felt him twist her around, she knew it meant both.

"Emily..." He said again.

She turned towards him and as her profile reached him, she felt his lips hit her mouth. Yeah, he had definitely tried to kiss her, only he had misjudged it and the kiss had landed on the right hand corner of her lips.

A gasp stifled in her throat as she realised what he had done and as she pulled away, she saw the panic in his eyes – had he done the wrong thing?

Emily flicked her eyes open and closed again as she tried to decide. Before she could make an informed decision, she felt his lips on hers again, the kiss was light and experimental, it was questioning and it begged her to kiss him back, but instead she pulled away.

"Um Hotch... What are you doing?" Her tone was light and there was a slight giggle there. His contorted expression told her that maybe that giggle had been inappropriate. It was just so confusing, he was her boss and he was kissing her...

"I'm sorry, I just... I'm sorry." Hotch backed away and she immediately missed the contact of his body against hers.

"Hotch I asked what you were doing, I didn't say stop what you're doing." She smiled and he took some light relief from the sparkle in her eyes.

Just as she was about to speak, her cell started ringing and quite frankly Emily could have cursed whoever was on the end of that phone call. In the few minutes it would take her to answer it, she knew that Hotch could disappear and whatever this was would become part of the ether – something they never spoke of again. Despite this, her phone showed no signs of cutting out with its incessant ringing. She gave him an apologetic look and pulled it out of her pocket, smiling as she read the caller I.D.

_Garcia._

* * *

_"Hi Penelope." She spoke warmly as she answered the phone. _

"_I'm afraid you failed the test my love, you're obviously not sleeping." Garcia giggled. _

"_Hey, maybe you woke me up!" Emily laughed, she looked at Hotch who was beginning to look rather desperate. _

"_No. I'm still awake." Emily admitted. _

"_I told you to get some rest Emily! I hope you're not still in that office missy – I may just have to call in the Calvary."Garcia told her reproachfully. _

"_I'm not sure Morgan would appreciate that, he's probably having some sexy dream or another and you shouldn't disturb J.J and Hotch, well he doesn't need to know about my late night jaunt to the office. Got it?" Emily warned, her eyes flicking to Hotch who rolled his eyes at her. _

"_Ooh I hope he's dreaming about me!" Garcia replied excitedly. _

"_Oh Penelope I do not need to know about that!" Emily told her. _

"_Where are you Em? Are you safe and warm my love?" She asked worriedly. _

"_Yeah I'm back in my room, just about to go to bed. I promise, now I'll see you when we get back Ok?" Emily told her, lying without a moment's hesitation. What could she say? – 'I'm standing outside my hotel room with Hotch and he's making bedroom eyes at me?' She was sure that wouldn't go down well. _

"_Ok my sweet, have good dreams." Garcia replied, knowing that she was being dismissed. _

"_You too Penelope. Night." Emily told her before disconnecting the call._

* * *

"Sorry about that, Garcia checked in with me earlier and you know how she worries." Emily laughed a little.

"Were you discussing me on the phone earlier? Is that why you made that excuse?" Hotch asked swallowing back the urge to rip her head off right now. He didn't like to be the butt of the joke.

"No of course not! Garcia wanted to call you in to rescue me, I couldn't exactly tell her you already had. What kind of impression would that have made?" Emily asked her tone flaring at his little blame game.

"I don't know, what kind of impression _is_ it making Emily?" He spat sarcastically.

"Don't get all defensive about this Hotch! You kissed me remember?" Emily flared, feeling the slap of the truth of what had happened between them.

"I know what happened Prentiss!" Hotch blasted.

"Oh so it's Prentiss again all of a sudden. I knew it couldn't last. What was it Hotch? Give me a little push and see how far you could get? Did you want to see if you could make a conquest of me?" Emily asked, anger pulsing at her temple.

"No that was not what this was about all. I don't... Damn it Emily – why do you always make things awkward?" Hotch vented his frustration at her and she was shocked. She had never seen him so angry before.

"I'm not making anything difficult Hotch. If you want to kiss me I'm not going to stop you." She told him, biting her lip a little as she waited for him to process what she had said.

"What are you saying?" Hotch asked, clearly confused.

"What do you think I'm saying?" She teased.

"Listen, we could stand out here all night if you like... or you could come in for a sec." Emily told him, leaving the choice in his hands. She refused to be overly committed at this point.

"You know, I think maybe I should... come in for a moment." Hotch told her.

"Ok." She replied simply, her heart skipping beats as she turned back towards the door.

* * *

"Damn... all this talking and the green light's gone out." She told him suggestively as she took the key card between her fingers and thrust it into the slot in a downwards – backwards combo. As she pulled it out she noticed that the light was gratifyingly green. She also noticed the feel of his fingers making slow concentric patterns on her back and although it was weird, it felt so good that she had to bite back the tiny moan which reverberated on her vocal chords.

"Emily... this green light you keep mentioning, is it literal or metaphoric?" He asked as she stepped over the threshold of her room, knowing that he was hot on her heels.

"Whatever you want it to be..." She told him, her voice filled with sexuality. She had been tempted to add 'baby' onto the end of the sentence but it was just too strange. This was all too strange. Hotch was in her hotel room, it was after hours and the rest of the team were only feet away in their rooms. It was weird...

She was unsure of what to do with herself, she could feel his eyes on her as she moved towards the light switch, she needed to turn the lights on, things were too heady, too dangerous in the darkness. She turned back around and smiled weakly at him, he was looking at her with those mysterious eyes and she really wanted to decode what they meant, but tonight all professional ability seemed to desert her and she was just a woman. She wondered if he could ever be just a man...

"You know, I really wasn't prepared for this to happen when I came to get you..." Hotch spoke nervously.

"That makes two of us then, except you seem to be in possession of more facts than me, maybe you could explain to me – what exactly is happening here?" Emily asked, her voice level and even. Maybe she just wanted him to say it. Maybe she just wanted to know what was going on.

"I don't know exactly, I'm not sure what this is... I haven't done this in a while." Hotch told her nervously.

"This?" Emily teased.

"You know what I mean – I haven't been with a woman in a while." Hotch told her, his cheeks flushing a little.

"That makes two of us." She said again.

Hotch looked at her strangely tipping his head to the side, this was a new side to Emily, he hadn't imagined her that way.

"You've not been with a woman in a while?" He asked nervously. "Should I be worried?" He continued.

Emily laughed and she felt any awkwardness between them dissipate. He had her there.

"Um well... I've never been with a woman actually but if it helps you to think of me that way then go ahead." Emily replied suggestively.

Hotch was silent and she took the opportunity to exploit the moment, grabbing her ponytail and slipping the elastic down the silky chord. She threw it onto the unit in the corner and ruffled her dark hair a little.

"So what happens now?" Hotch asked, his nerves still present.

"Now... whatever you want, there are no rules... but you usually start with a kiss." Emily told him.

"Can I?" He asked her permission like the polite gentleman she had always known him to be.

"Yes." She whispered and suddenly he had closed the small gap between them. His hands didn't wrap around her as she expected them to, he did not hold her like a lover and she guessed she shouldn't have been surprised- technically, they weren't lovers – they were just two people leaning into a kiss that hadn't happened yet.

When it did, she admitted surprise, his teeth grazed against her lips and her nose hit his cheek uncomfortably. They clearly didn't fit together and yet now that he was here she wasn't about to let him. She hadn't had any in so long and she wanted some... She wanted him...

"Hotch wait..." She pulled away from him and looked into his pained eyes.

"Maybe... let's try something... Close your eyes." She told him thinking of a plan.

"What?" He breathed heavily, oh yeah he wanted her.

"You heard me, just trust me." Emily replied. After a moment's hesitation he complied.

She leant in close to him, knowing that her breath would be tickling the side of his face. _'I'm not going anywhere Hotch.' _She wanted to reassure him. She started with his eyes letting her lips brush against them softly, she felt him groan appreciatively and she smiled as she drew back and noticed the faint traces of her red lipstick on his eyelids. She felt like she had stamped him – property of Emily Prentiss.

She continued her journey across his caressing his cheeks and jaw with kisses until she made her way back to his lips. Once there she brushed her own lips against his, loving the soft feel of them against her own. She pressed her lips against his with firm insistency and let her tongue massage his bottom lip.

'_This is how I like to be kissed, this is what a real kiss feels like.' _She told him silently.

She smiled against his hard mouth as she felt him relax and groan a little against her touch. He opened his mouth to her after a moment and as she slipped inside of him, she tasted the wine they had shared together – a truly wonderful vintage. She let her tongue guide her dipping into him tentatively, waiting for him to respond. It was a new sensation for Emily since although it had been a long time, she's used to being dominated, not dominant and yet Hotch held back, followed her lead and it was... different. Not bad exactly, only she wished he would grab onto her possessively, that he would throw her down onto the bed and strip her hungrily. But instead she is standing opposite him, his arms are hanging limply by his sides and they might as well not be here at all...

She decided to take matters into her own hands. She slipped her hands around his back feeling the contours of his body beneath his starched white dress shirt. She allowed him only a second to get used to the idea of her touch before she uses her splayed fingertips to pull him closer. She dug her fingernails into him a little and she heard him draw in a sharp breath, Ok so that was what worked for Agent Hotchner. She could go with that. She continued to pull him towards her until he lost balance and was forced to grab her waist to steady him. She half expected him to withdraw as soon as he had regained composure but surprisingly he didn't, he let his hands linger on her slender waist, gently stroking her through her shirt. She could feel her body burning for him and she knew that they weren't moving quickly enough and yet there was something endearing about his touch that made her forget her selfish needs.

He pulled away from her looking into her lust filled eyes. This wasn't how he had imagined spending his night, but he couldn't deny that he has imagined it – spending the night with her – crossing the barrier of work and professionalism and taking her in his arms and from the look in her eyes he could do exactly what he wanted and she wouldn't stop him... He would waste no more time, he planned to show her that he could be a good lover, he would not let his nerves get in the way of what they both wanted...

She had been watching him through slightly hooded eyes for the past few minutes. Since she had instigated the first proper kiss neither of them had moved, they seemed frozen by the way this had all turned out and yet, there was that look in his eyes which told her that the real Hotch was waking up... at last...

He gripped her waist with his wide hands letting his nails dig into her skin through her white shirt. He didn't know where this urge to make her uncomfortable was coming from, but that was just the way he felt and he was rewarded for his efforts by the emission of a soft moan, a sound he knew he would never forget.

"Hotch..." She started to speak but he silenced her with another kiss. He was definitely frustrated, she could feel it in his kiss and she knew it from the way that certain other parts of his body were reacting to her. Before she even had time to react to this, she felt him walking her back towards the bed. It was definitely starting...

His lips never left hers as he pushed her back, not caring that she lost her balance a little on the way. He just wanted her down on that bed, he wanted her under him – writhing and screaming and...

She startled a little as she felt her legs hit the bedstead. The shock of this caused her to stop kissing him and search out her orders. She would let him control this from now on, she felt like he needed it and she was complaining, in fact the very thought of being controlled by him was turning her on...

"Boots... take off your boots." He instructed and he loved the twinkle in her eye as she bent down before him and worked on the zips of her footwear. He followed her lead removing his shoes and socks before standing back up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way up, locking their bodies together.

"What do you want Hotch?" She asked, her tone teasing as her fingers found their way to the first button of his white shirt. She popped it loose, loving the coolness of the plastic disk between her thumb and fore finger. Before he could answer she pushed her fingers into the hollow at the base of his throat, applying light pressure. She wanted to feel the growl of his voice as he told her he wanted her, she wanted to remember exactly what he sounded like when he gave into desire...

"I want... you naked on that bed." He told her, any hint of bashfulness disappearing.

He waited for her reaction, sure she was about to make some smart comment, but instead his eyes widened as she backed up, sliding over the bedstead and laid down on the bed.

"Does this work for you?" She asked, a gleam in her eye.

"It's a start, but you're not quite as naked as you should be Emily." He told her.

She shuddered, the sound of her name on his lips driving her insane.

"Then come here and undress me Hotch..." She told him, giving him the permission she knew he was probably searching for.

He didn't need to be told twice, he climbed onto the bed placing one knee on either side of her body as he straddled her. She gasped as she felt his erection press close to where she wanted him most and she was glad when his lips covered hers – the action stifled the loud moan she released.

"You really want me that much?" She asked, her voice hinting at the uncertainty she felt.

"I really want you that much." He told her, pushing her hair back from her face.

"You know I never figured you to be one of those guys Hotch." Emily mused as her fingers went down on the remaining buttons of his shirt.

"What kind of guy?" He asked puzzled as he let his lips trail along her jaw and plummet over the valley of her cotton clad cleavage.

"The kind who talks dirty to woman." She told him frankly.

"You haven't heard anything yet." He told her, his eyes gleaming at the challenge.

"I'm intrigued ..." Emily replied as his shirt fell open and his muscular chest was exposed to him.

"You should be." He told her, smiling as he reached the deep v of her blouse.

Her whole body rose to him and she let out an erotic moan as she felt his tongue flick out and taste her desperately untouched skin.

"Hotch..." His name tumbled from her lips and she shut her eyes against the waves of pleasure that he caused in her. He couldn't know how much she was enjoying herself, not yet... She wasn't ready to surrender herself to him yet.

Her fingers scraped down his bare torso settling on the cold metal of his belt buckle as she felt him pop the first button on her blouse. Everything was so soft, sensual and slow and yet adrenaline pulsed through her body and her heart raced he was so... sexy and her body was aching for him...

As he popped the second and third buttons on her blouse, she heard the gratifying clink of metal as she slipped his belt undone and it didn't take long for her finger to loosen the fastening of his trousers. He kicked at them furiously until she heard them land somewhere on the floor. The first casualty of whatever this was...

She laid still for a moment appreciating the weight of him above her and observing the contours of his body which was, rather unfortunately still clad in his somewhat dishevelled dress shirt and his boxers but she didn't mind – that would be some fun for later... For now she just concentrated on the sensation of his hands on her body, she could tell from the lick of air that caressed her burning body that he had reached the last button of her blouse. It would be only seconds before he removed it completely and then maybe her seriously untouched breasts would receive some attention... God she hoped so.

"Emily..." Hotch spoke her name like he was desperate for something and if it was the same thing she was desperate for then she knew how much it hurt.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Sit up." He instructed and she looked quizzically into his eyes for a moment as she processed this new, demanding Hotch.

"Sit up please." He half begged seemingly remembering his manners.

"What's the matter?" She asked concernedly.

"Nothing's the matter...well actually there is something the matter – you're still wearing your blouse and I want you to take it off." He admitted.

"Oh. Why didn't you just say so?" She giggled a little sitting up and shrugging her arms out of her blouse. She ran her left arm over her right self consciously but he pushed her arms away.

She was beautiful. Of course he had noticed it before – everyone knew that Emily Prentiss was beautiful with her long, dark hair, pale skin and red lips – she was something of a snow white – but it took this, this perfect image of her right now for him to realise just how beautiful she really was. He kissed her again, not sure whether he was reassuring her or whether he was just kissing her, but he knew that she certainly didn't need any reassurance. The way her hair was tumbling over her shoulders leading his eyes to the white lace clad valley of her heaving chest was just driving him mad. He lowered her back onto the pillow, watching as her hair splayed in all directions and she was exposed to him.

"You're beautiful." He mumbled as his lips trailed along her elegant collarbone and settled upon the white lace of her bra. He began to suck and tease her until the turgid flesh beneath the lace rose to him satisfactorily.

"What did you say?" She asked, her voice not above a whisper as she tried to comprehend what she thought he had said. Using the word beautiful meant that this meant something. He wasn't supposed to say something like that – this was supposed to be casual. Telling her she was beautiful was something that a real lover was supposed to do, not Hotch and man with whom she had to work every day subsequent to this perfect night...

"I said that you're beautiful Emily." He told her without hesitation as he reached up and brushed his lips against hers.

She panicked then, was this moving too fast? Were they making a mistake? Could they ever be just two people who were having sex with their history? They were Emily and Hotch and they didn't do things like this – they shouted and screamed and they clashed with each other. They did not take pleasure from stripping each other and plunging into that dangerously messy oblivion of office relationships and he certainly did not tell her she was beautiful... or at least so she thought.

"Hotch, wait... you can't say things like that, saying that makes this mean something..." She trailed off as he halted his ministrations on her left breast.

"Are you going to pretend this doesn't mean something Emily? This is us and this has been a long time coming, so don't diminish its importance. You know this is more than just sex." Hotch replied, confident that she would agree.

"Hotch an hour ago we were fighting and now we're here in a hotel room acting like lovers and I don't really understand it..." Emily told him, unsure of her intentions – she certainly didn't want him to stop she just... didn't know.

"Emily things just happen sometimes – when they're supposed to happen." He told her, grabbing onto her bra strap and dragging it down her arm. He had no intention of stopping, not when he realised that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked between his hot open mouthed kisses. She realised then that she needn't have bothered – she knew it was a good idea.

"Yes I'm sure, now would you just relax?" He laughed a little as her hands wrapped around his head pulling him closer to her lips.

"Yes, God yes!" She half screamed as his hands began to massage her breasts.

After a while his hands trailed down the smooth plane of her stomach stopping as they hit the waistband of her trousers. He watched as she propped herself up on one elbow her eyes fixed on him as he worked the button and zip down and dragged the trousers down her legs. Now they were equals – well aside from Hotch's shirt but that didn't matter. In fact she lost all semblances of what was happening as his fingers travelled up her leg and around the inside of her thigh. She knew what he was going to do and she had to bite down hard on her lip to suppress the scream which built up in her throat as he began to push her white lace knickers aside and push his fingers into her intimacy. She lost it then – her mind filled only with thoughts of what he was doing.

He smiled at her cattishly as he watched her eyes roll and heard the delicious sounds she emitted.

"Oh God Hotch... Oh God..." She panted as she realised she was nearing the crescendo of a mind blowing orgasm. It felt so good after so much time – it felt so good.

"You like that?" He asked as he pulled her underwear off leaving her totally exposed to him.

"God yes!" She yelled again grabbing the collar of his shirt and dragging his lips back to hers. She clung to his neck almost desperately and wrapped her legs about his waist, pulling them tantalisingly close together. With her feet she rolled away his boxers and waited impatiently as he wriggled out of them. When finally he came to be resting again they were centre to centre. She was hot for him, she was ready for him and if his hardness between her legs could be trusted he was too.

She furiously swept her hair from her face as he leant in for another kiss. He was teasing her, making her wait for what she knew would be inevitable...

"Hotch – Please!" She begged in her frustration.

He looked down at her noticing how closely they fit together. It just felt right – to be with her after so many years of emptiness and loneliness, after separating from Haley and thinking that he would never find someone new. He knew that Emily Prentiss was the right person for him to be with.

She squeezed her eyes shut and balled the sheets in her fists as she tried to maintain some self control – they had to get up and work tomorrow – how could she leave him with an impression of her as wanton? Although she knew she had lost any hope of rectifying this impression.

"Open your eyes Emily, I want to see your face when I enter you." He told her – another order she could not refuse.

"Please... Please." She begged feeling ridiculous as she felt tears welling in her eyes.

"Please what Emily?" He asked casually, disguising his own dwindling control.

"Take me... Damn it Hotch – take me!" She told him forcefully.

"Kiss me first." He teased knowing that she would do anything if it meant he would be inside of her.

"I swear if you don't do what I've asked soon I will never kiss you again." Emily told him defiantly.

He processed what she had said for a moment. She had just made a clear link to the future and he knew it was about more than the future of this night – he could tell as much from her tone.

"Oh is that a threat Agent Prentiss?" He teased, lowering his lips to hers, hinting at the kiss he was about to give her.

"No it's a promise." She retorted before grabbing his head and jamming her lips onto his. There was nothing slow or deliberate about that kiss, it was designed to solicit one purpose – his entry into her and he knew as much. As he swept his tongue around hers he knew he couldn't resist anymore.

With this notion at the forefront of his thoughts he pulled back from her, loving the tortured look in her eyes.

"Tell me again Emily – what was it you wanted from me?" He asked.

"I want you to take..." Her words died on her lips as he filled her.

"Oh God!" She moaned in her ecstasy as she realised the extent of him. He filled her like no man ever had and she relished this feeling more than anything.

"Better?" He asked loving the look of pure bliss in her eyes.

"Infinitely." She smiled.

"Hotch... what happens now?" She asked, enjoying the feeling of their connection but needing something... more...

"Now Emily, I am going to make love to you." He told her with a tenderness that made her want to cry.

He took her hands in his as he began to move inside of her. He started slowly, placing a tender kiss to every part of her face for every thrust. Soon though, he was building a pace which astounded her. Never had she been with a man so athletic, so eager, so... perfect. She matched him thrust for thrust as they drew nearer to Heaven...

He looked her dead in the eye every time he thrust into her and she knew that no words were necessary – they had surpassed the need for small talk and there was no need to cheapen this experience with smutty comments. What was happening here was pure and beautiful. She felt herself begin to tighten around him and she noticed that the stars of her oblivion were beginning to appear. She knew it wouldn't be long and when he mumbled her name urgently against her shoulder she knew he felt it too.

"Do it Hotch, please save me." She whispered and with one final thrust he did just that.

Her whole body arched into his and she felt herself lift away from the bed, she felt like she was floating. She screamed his name over and over and above the sound of her own voice, she could hear her own name echoing around the room. Somehow she found herself in sitting position her head resting against his shoulder as he filled her even more than before.

"Hotch..." She whispered as felt him pour into her.

She bit down on his shoulder as she felt him shudder against her and then she was gone floating in a bright white Heaven and feeling utterly content...

Somehow, they had come to be resting side by side. They laid flat on their backs and their mutual heavy breathing told them it was going to be a long recovery. In the sunny afterglow of the love they had made Emily Prentiss felt like she was in exactly the right place. She closed her eyes for a moment and found that she could still see everything they had done together. It had been beautiful and she felt like the two of them were real lovers now. In fact she knew they were.

After a while she felt herself being manipulated and she groaned in faint protest before she felt the smooth, hot skin of his chest beneath her head. Wait were they spooning? Was this what sex was really like? Was this what it was supposed to feel like afterwards? If it was she wanted to make love to Hotch forever...

She reached out her hand and placed it over his heart, never once opening her eyes.

"I wish... we could stay this way forever Hotch." She mused as she felt one arm wrap lazily across her waist and the other beginning to stroke comforting patterns onto her arm.

"Can't we?" Hotch asked lightly. He was clearly still enjoying their little bubble.

"I think the others would sort of notice." She giggled.

"I guess you're right." Hotch replied the disappointment clear in his voice.

She opened her eyes staring up at him with a small smile.

"You know, that doesn't mean we can't do it again Hotch." She mused.

"Looks like you're right again Emily – I don't ever want this to end." He told her, baring his soul.

"I can deal with that." Emily laughed.

They were silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"Emily?" He asked and she couldn't get over how good her name sounded when he said it.

"Mm?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Does that mean the green light's still on?" He asked, his tone full of suggestion.

"Y'know I think it's still glimmering." She replied just as suggestively.

"That is very good news." He told her and she could feel the smile he wore as he kissed her jaw line.

"Whatever are you suggesting Agent Hotchner?" She giggled as she felt him roll on top of her...

* * *

_**The Next Morning... **_

Emily woke with a start. She was acutely aware of something knocking although as she lay in bed adjusting to the feeling of being awake, she couldn't exactly place the sound – so she ignored it. She knew she wasn't at home – she could feel coarseness on her skin that just didn't feel right. She tried to remember what had happened last night, knowing that she hadn't been drinking. It just wasn't right – she couldn't explain why she felt so happy and yet as she continued to lie there, things started to come back to her... There had been snow and blood and thoughts about demons, there had been Hotch and fighting and kissing and taking off of clothes and... Hotch inside of her...

Oh God...

Hotch.

Her eyes flew open and they landed on... the sleeping form of Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner.

So that explained her happiness then... She had slept with Hotch last night, they had made love four times if she remembered correctly and here he was, still here the morning after... What did that even mean?

Her thoughts were interrupted by that knocking again and she realised that it was coming from the door – someone was knocking at the door.

Oh God and she wasn't even dressed.

She cast her eyes around noticing that her trousers and blouse were totally screwed up on the floor, there was no possibility of her putting those on in a hurry. She saw Hotch's shirt just laying there and quickly slung it on buttoning it haphazardly. She ran to the door hoping not to disturb Hotch and heard J.J's voice hissing through the door.

"Emily? Emily are you awake?" J.J asked and Emily wandered if she knew how ridiculous she sounded talking to the door.

She opened the door quickly and stared at her friend with blazing eyes.

"Hey – if I wasn't awake before you came I would be after all that knocking!" She hissed.

"I'm sorry Em, but we've got a plane to catch..." J.J trailed off as she appraised her friend properly for the first time.

Emily stood in the doorway of her room with her hair mussed and dishevelled and last night's lipstick smudged across her cheek and J.J couldn't explain it. There was a kind of glow emanating from her and although she was looking at her with angry eyes she looked happy. She looked the way J.J always felt after spending a full night with Will, but they were away from home and Emily wasn't seeing anyone but as the blonde agent continued to look at her friend she noticed the absence of any pants and it looked like she hadn't even thought about getting on the plane back home. In fact she was wearing a man's shirt.

"Um Em, what happened to you last night?" J.J asked, a glint in her eye.

"Nothing why?" Emily whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" J.J stifled a giggle.

"I'm not whispering!" Emily replied defensively, raising her voice a little.

"You know we haven't been able to get hold of Hotch, we went to his room but he didn't answer. The plane leaves in an hour and it's not like Hotch to be late." J.J put in just for good measure.

"Why are you telling me this?" Emily asked, terrified that Hotch would wake up and blow her cover.

"I don't know. Did you see him last night?" J.J asked.

"No. I mean, we went for a drink but after that I don't know." Emily lied easily.

"Right Ok." J.J replied knowing her friend was acting strangely.

"Um J.J I need to get dressed – we've got a plane to catch." Emily made to close the door but J.J stopped her.

"Um Em, just one more thing. I heard... screaming last night, from your room and not the bad kind... the 'I'm having really great sex' kind of screaming – did you... y'know?" J.J couldn't suppress the giggle which escaped her this time.

"Not that it's any of your business but maybe I did." Emily smiled.

"Mm and your guy's still sleeping right?" J.J asked.

"Yeah he is and he's the discreet type so if you..." Emily started to reply but something interrupted her – it was an all too familiar voice and Emily cringed.

"Emily? Come back to bed, I need to kiss you..." Hotch told her suggestively and she turned her head back towards him. Oh great he was going to blow his top now.

Emily turned back to J.J, a look of sheer panic in her eyes. J.J smiled knowing that this was supposed to happen.

"Are you happy now?" Emily shot at her friend.

"Is that Hotch?" J.J asked despite herself.

"Do you need to come and see or can you trust me?" Emily asked defensively.

"Um no.. of course, I'll leave you to it." J.J backed away. Just as she was about to close the door, J.J grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

"We'll talk about this later, I want to know everything." She whispered.

"You are so disturbed." Emily laughed.

"Yeah well if you can't tell your best girlfriend about sexy time with the boss who can you tell?" J.J giggled.

"Hmm we'll see." Emily laughed and she closed the door.

"Was that J.J?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, Hotch I'm sorry we got busted." Emily hung her head.

"Hey, Emily – look at me." Hotch told her.

"I'm sorry." She said again.

"Emily don't worry, maybe it's not such a bad thing that she knows." Hotch replied.

"Seriously?" Emily asked looking up at her.

"Seriously." Hotch replied.

"So what now?" Emily asked.

"Now we should probably take a shower and get dressed." Hotch told her.

"Great." Emily replied, moving towards the bathroom.

"Agent Prentiss – I meant together." Hotch told her.

"Oh right, sorry my mistake." Emily smiled as she came back out of the bathroom.

Her fingers moved to the shirt and she slipped the buttons out of their holes. She let the material fall to the ground and stood there under the glorious lust of his stare.

She went back into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When he didn't take the hint she popped her head around the door frame.

"Coming Agent Hotchner?" She teased and as he got out of bed and took her in her arms she knew she never had to worry about demons again – not when she had her very own angel...

* * *

**So there it is, sorry it's a bit of gargantuan story but there you go. Please let me know what you think. Please forgive all editorial mistakes, I have tried. **

**Lots of Love **

_**X~Michelle~X**_


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